Author: Bitten And Staked
Title: City of Angels - Chapter 26 - Pier 17.
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Summary: Buffys first official date with Spike is down at the pier with her family, sneaking away for a quiet moment together they walk along the beach.
Timeline: set in between season 5 and 6, in my alternate world where Buffy didn't die. Spike's crypt is trashed during the final showdown and Dawn convinces Buffy to let him stay since he protected them both.
Series: Part 26 of ?
Pairing: Buffy and Spike. Romance, love and nooky.
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: everyone else owns Buffy and all associated with her.
Feedback: always welcome so email me - webmaster@talesoftheslayer.com
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Buffy smiled as she watched Spike and her father competing on the shooting game. Spike was losing but didn't seem to mind too much, she suspected he was only losing to make her father like him.
"Hey sis." Dawn grinned at her from behind a mound of cotton candy.
"Dawn, you will so rot your teeth." Buffy chided her as she picked off some of the pink fluff and popped it into her mouth.
"And that's why we got you some too." Jane handed a stick to her.
Buffy smiled at her very own mound of pink fluff and then at Spike who was walking triumphantly back towards them, a large stuffed Eeyore under his arm.
"Look, Mr.Gordos new friend. Thought he looked a little lonely at home sitting on your bed with no company." Spike held to toy out for her to inspect, Buffy swept both the Eeyore and Spike into her free arm.
"Thanks." She mumbled from somewhere in Eeyores neck, a grin spread across Spikes face.
"Where next then? The night is still young." Hank handed his smaller toy to Jane and looked a little sheepish.
"So small." Jane laughed at the little stuffed rabbit.
"Seems William here is more of a hunter than he lets on." He looked to Spike who was busy with his arms full of Buffy.
"Ooh, carousel." Dawn turned to Spike whose face was full of 'no' so she grabbed Jane and Hank instead, pulling them in the direction of the horses.
Spike watched them go as he relieved Buffy of Eeyore and took her free hand in his. They walked in silence for a few minutes and found themselves at the top of the steps leading down to the beach, Buffy binned her cotton candy and removed her shoes. Spike took it as a sign that she wanted to walk along the beach with him.
Pulling his boots off he tied the bootlaces together and hung them over Eeyores neck, slipping Buffys small shoes into his boots. The moon made the ocean look black with small white crests where it hit the rocks and the sand under his feet was still warm. Spike stared out at the sea and let his thoughts drift away with the waves.
"Spike." Buffy caressed his hand with her thumb and he turned to look down at her. "What you thinking in there?"
He started walking slowly with her down to the waters edge, the warm sand underfoot turning cold as they reached the tide line.
"Not much, old times." Spike swung her hand in his and looked at them together.
"We had a pretty bad beginning." Buffy tilted her head so she could see his face.
"Doesn't matter now. Regret trying to kill your friends though, maybe I poisoned them against me." Spikes voice was quiet as he looked down at her.
"But you've helped so much since then. Maybe we threw all that stuff at each other because we never wanted to admit to ourselves that we had feelings for each other."
"Buffy?" Spike stopped still and let the water drift over his feet.
"I mean." She frowned and met his eye. "Maybe all that time we were working so hard against the connection that we felt to each other, so hard that we blinded ourselves to it. We were so busy thinking we should hate each other that we missed how we really felt."
Spike narrowed his eyes and pulled her close to him, growling low into her ear.
"Spike, I never could slay you, no matter how much I thought I wanted to." Buffy let her head come to rest on his chest and her hand play with Eeyores hair.
"Same here pet, from the first moment I laid eyes on you it was over. I lost myself in you but found myself all at the same time." Spike bent his head lower and kissed her hair.
"I did used to love our little fights though, you always left me feeling frustrated yet fulfilled even though I hadn't managed to defeat you." Buffy stepped back and looked up at him.
"I'm very good at running away when I'm about to meet a dusty ending." Spike took hold of her hand and started walking again.
"God did you give me some beatings though." Buffy laughed at him.
"You can talk, you seen the scars you gave me?" Spike laughed along with her.
Breaking free from his grasp Buffy ran along the beach and on finding a stick bought it back to Spike.
"You a dog now Slayer?" Spike looked at her quizzically as she started drawing on the damp sand.
Watching her with amazement Spike smiled as he saw her drawing a large heart with flames along it, just like his tattoo. Buffy looked at him and grinned as he walked towards her.
"It's empty pet, you need an initial in it like this one." He pulled his shirt up to reveal his tattoo.
"Thinking." Buffy screwed her face up in feigned concentration and then applied her stick to the sand once more.
When she stepped out of the way Spikes eyes lit up, inside the heart Buffy had drawn 'S+B'. He dropped Eeyore and their footwear onto the dry sand, grabbed her by the waist and span around with her in his arms. Coming to a stop he saw Buffy was panting and laughing happily into his eyes.
Neither of them had noticed him, the way they were acting they probably wouldn't notice if it starting raining fire and brimstone, standing on the boardwalk watching them all he could do was sigh.